JUNE 1976
VOL. TWO, NO. SIX
FIGHTING FOREST POLLUTION
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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We begin this issue in America's forest lands
where the silence is sometimes broken by the
snarling of power saws, the crashing of falling trees,
and the roar of huge tractors and trucks removing the
new logs.
Faulty construction and maintenance of the thou-
sands of miles of timber removal roads which snake
through the forests has caused serious erosion prob-
lems, especially in hilly or mountain areas. Massive
TRAVELING
WITH THE
JOURNAL
quantities of mud wash down into clear mountain
streams, polluting what usually are the cleanest
portions of our river systems.
The lead article describes the problems and what
TI'A is doing to help curb this source of pollution.
The Journal then travels to the Himalaya Moun-
tains in Nepal, the Austrian Alps, the Ruwenzori
Mountains in Uganda, and the Andes in Peru to
report on scientists who "read" glaciers for evidence
of pollution conditions over the centuries.
We visit the Kennedy Space Center at Cape
Canaveral, Fla., where KPA is opening a $2M),0(X)
exhibit on the role of science and technology in
achieving a cleaner, more healthful environment.
We pause in Washington to see a new garden
which was developed with the aid of generous
quantities of composted sludge, the solids left after
treatment of sewage at the District's Blue Plains
plant.
We take a good look at the Great Southwest in
"Region VI on Parade."
We hopscotch back and forth across the country in
articles on progress in air and water pollution control.
An article about a new film reports on the impact
of air pollution on health.
Reading about the effects of air pollution is
interesting, but listening to an air pollution victim can
be chilling. The Journal recently interviewed Anne
Haughton, press officer in HPA's Philadelphia office.
Miss Haughton was walking on a sidewalk in
downtown Philadelphia one windy day last March
when something flew in her eye. After trying
unsuccessfully to rub it out, she went to a hospital
emergency room where doctors used a tiny drill to
remove a particle of metal about three times bigger
than a period on this page from the cornea of her
right eye.
However, the doctors left a "rust ring" deposited
by the metal particle because they were afraid that
removal of this ring would require the cutting away
of too much eye tissue.
When her vision continued blurred. Miss Haugh-
ton went to an eye specialist who managed to
remove most of the rust ring. Now, she has been
told, with the aid of glasses, her eyesight can be
returned to normal.
This was, of course, a freak accident. Yet it
illustrates an often-overlooked aspect of air pollution.
EPA strategy for reduction of particulates has
focused on controlling emissions from such sources
as industrial plant chimneys. This approach has
generally reduced particulate pollution. Now both
EPA and the States have become increasingly aware
that "fugitive emissions"—particles generated from
industrial operations and discharged to the air
through windows and doors, which have no pollution
controls, or blown up from the street by car traffic or
wind—are making it difficult to attain the standard
for particulate control, particularly in the big cities.
Actually, the smaller particulates, the ones which
may not be visible at all, are generally more harmful
than the larger particles. Fine particulates are a
particular health hazard because they can bypass the
body's respiratory filters and penetrate deeply into
the lungs.
Dr. Douglas Hanmer, an HPA science consultant
who has been studying the health effects of air-
pollution on respiratory diseases in children, has
reported that particulates can cause higher rates of
diseases such as croup, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
In addition to causing an increase in respiratory
diseases in children, he warns, air pollution poses
"an increased risk of chronic respiratory diseases in
the same children when they grow up and become
adults."
All of this shows once again that we run enormous
risks by abusing our environment. D
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Ok
$322
U.S.
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
Russell E. Train
Administrator
Patricia L. Cahn
Director of Public Affairs
Charles D. Pierce
Editor
Staff:
Van Trumbull
Ruth Hussey
PHOTO CREDITS
COVER, 4 Tomas Sennett*
INSIDE
COVER. 3 Entheos*
PAGE 5 American Cyanamid Co.
PAGE 6.7 Wieslaw Maczek
PAGE 8 Al Wilson
PAGE 10 LeRoy Woodson*
PAGE 12 Blair Pittman*
PAGE 14 Eric Pollitzer
PAGE 18 R. E. "Bob" Tenney
and Associates
PAGE 19 Hot Springs Chamber
of Commerce
BACK
COVER NASA
* DOCUMERICA Photos
COVER: Logging truck on road near
Redwood National Park, California.
Printed on recycled paper.
ARTICLES
FIGHTING FOREST POLLUTION
How EPA is working to reduce
environmental damage from lumbering.
FARMERS FEEL 'THE STING1 by Larry O'Neill 5
Beware of high-pressure pesticide salesmen.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETECTIVES FIND ICY CLUES 6
Glaciers record pollution trends. ByTrurnan Temple.
SLUDGE HELPS A GARDEN GROW 8~
Washington's new beauty spot
is based on reclaimed materials.
THE JOURNAL NEEDS YOUR HELP
A readership survey
YOUR HEALTH AND AIR POLLUTION
Quotations from a new film.
9
"To
THE AIR AND WATER CLEANUP
EPA reports to Congress on Air Quality
and Water Quality.
12
\3
THE AMERICAN SCENE
Photo essay on an art show:
14
REGION VI ON PARADE
18
THE GREAT SOUTHWEST by John F. Bradford
20
EPA OPENS FLORIDA EXHIBIT
BACK PAGE
DEPARTMENTS
PEOPLE
AROUND THE NATION
INQUIRY
NEWS BRIEFS
16
22
24
25
The EPA Journal is published
monthly, with combined issues for
July-August and November-Decem-
ber, for employees of the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency. It does
not alter or supersede regulations,
operating procedures or manual in-
structions. Contributions and inquiries
should be addressed to the Editor,
(A - 107) Room 305, West Tower,
Waterside Mall, 401 M St., S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20460. No permis-
sion necessary to reproduce contents
except copyrighted photos and other
materials.
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FIGHTING FOREST
POLLUTION
Lightning flamed across the night sky
and thunder rolled up and down the
mountain hollows as a violent storm
sent sheets of rain pelting to earth.
The storm lashed a rocky ridge,
sending water cascading south into
one valley and north on the other side
into another watershed.
Rain falling on the south side flowed
through some clumps of mountain
laurel and gradually gathered into rivu-
lets which soon sank into the thick
fy leaf- and humus-carpeted floor of a
maple and oak forest below.
At dawn the storm eased into a mild
drizzle and then stopped as the sun
sent shafts of light through a rift in the
clouds.
Near the base of the south side of
the ridge a trout stream, swollen by
the heavy rain, wound through a dark
forest occasionally lit by clouds of
flowering dogwood. A tiny Carolina
wren, warmed by the rising sun, burst
into raucous song.
On the north side of the ridge the
rain had splashed down a rocky in-
cline and across a hillside scarred by
poorly maintained logging roads. Now
the ascending sun began drying the
erosion fissures in these roads which
had been carved deeper by the night's
rainfall.
Below a once clear brook carried a
muddy load of mountain earth on its
way to the sea. Among the fish and
animals smothered in the chocolate
stream was a young frog which had
been devouring a dragon fly in its final
B moments. Death came when a portion
of the water-soaked logging road
H above suddenly slumped down the
U| ridge, sending a torrent of soil and
j£| rock crashing and rumbling into the
small waterway.
In the forests, improper construction
and maintenance of logging roads is
often a major cause of water pollution.
The U.S. Forest Service is working
to develop procedures which will
avoid such problems as the construc-
tion of poorly designed logging roads
on the ridge's north side which strip
the soil of its natural leaf litter. This
forest floor covering normally absorbs
the impact of falling rain.
Forests such as those on the south
Giant trees tower above the forest floor.
PAGE 2
side of the ridge are shields that
protect the soil from erosion by soak-
ing up rain faster than it falls. Live
tree roots also bind forest soil and
provide passageways for water to en-
ter the earth.
Other causes of water problems in
the forest include soil disturbances
during tree harvesting and transporta-
tion, damage to fish spawning areas in
stream beds by operation of logging
equipment and application of pesti-
cides and herbicides. The removal of
shade by cutting of trees along stream
banks can also result in fish kills when
a glaring sun heats up the water.
While irresponsible clear cutting of
timber over huge areas can also some-
times contribute to erosion problems,
the mere cutting of trees is generally
not the cause of water pollution. Even
though the leafy tops are removed
when trees are cut, the existing litter
cover can often help protect the soil
until a new tree canopy grows.
The muddy water produced by ero-
sion from logging roads ruins streams
for fish and humans. The siltation
also causes economic damage because
industries cannot use muddy water.
The extent of the problem of logging
roads is shown by the fact that in the
Pacific Northwest alone there are
over 250,000 miles of such roads. An
estimated 12,000 miles of these roads
are constructed or reconstructed each
year in this region, where erosion is a
particular problem because the exten-
sive timber cutting is often conducted
in mountainous terrain in wet weather
and near streams.
To help control this and other forest
pollution problems, EPA awarded a
$66,000 grant to the American For-
estry Association to hold a series of
workshops on forest practices and
water quality.
The purpose of the workshops has
been to examine all State options and
approaches to the problem of control
o'f pollution from such non-point
sources as logging road erosion and to
begin development of suitable State
programs.
Nearly 800 people participated in the
seven workshops held in the following
cities: Atlanta; Boston; New Orleans;
Portland, Ore.; the District of Colum-
bia; Denver; and Chicago.
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At each of these workshops State
delegations composed of key legisla-
tors, administrators of forestry and
environmental programs, representa-
tives of large and small forest land-
owners, environmentalists, conserva-
tionists, and other interests were pres-
ent. Each State group presented initial
assessments of water quality problems
on forest lands and recommendations
for dealing with them.
Jack Churchill, EPA's Water Plan-
ning Division interagency coordinator.
served as the policy and technical
director for EPA at the workshops.
Ruth Brown, public information spe-
cialist, EPA Office of Public Affairs,
served as project officer responsible
for over-all management of the grant
and worked with the Forest Service
and the American Forestry Associa-
tion in the planning and management
of each of the workshops.
Now the American Forestry Associ-
ation will present its recommendations
to Administrator Russell E. Train and
John R. McGuire, Chief, U.S. Forest
Service, at a meeting this month.
In dealing with non-point sources of
pollution such as erosion, EPA has
been encouraging State planning agen-
cies to determine "best management
practices" to prevent pollution rather
than to devise suitable "after the fact"
treatment processes.
Best management practices are being
developed by a State or one of its
planning agencies after examination of
alternative means of preventing or
reducing pollution. These practices
should reflect such factors as differ-
ences in climate, soil, slope, and vege-
tative cover.
In a speech to the American For-
estry Association last October, Ad-
ministrator Train said:
"I have repeatedly stressed my view
that EPA's success in carrying out the
Clean Air and Water Acts and other-
laws will be determined, not so much
by our zest in issuing regulations or
by our zeal in enforcing them—though
these are important, particularly the
latter—but by our willingness to work
together with (and 1 stress those
words) the citizens of this country, not
simply after the fact, but in the very
formulation of our regulations, guide-
lines and plans—by our willingness to
make the people affected by our deci-
sions and regulations a full partner in
the process by which we arrive at
those decisions and regulations.
A dense stand of old-growth Douglas fir
in the Olympic National Park. Wash.
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Timber roads cross clear-cut mountain
side.
"In no respect is this need to get the
people affected by what we do in-
volved in what we do more urgent or
important than in our efforts to reduce
water pollution from non-point
sources. By its very nature, this effort
will require active and effective coop-
eration between everybody con-
cerned—between the newer environ-
mental interests and the century-old
natural resources conservation move-
ment, between HPA and the State
regulatory agencies and the forest and
agricultural land management agencies
and private industry.
"It is to assure precisely that kind of
cooperation between the forest man-
agement, conservation, and environ-
mental communities that EPA has
joined with the Forest Service and
your Association in holding seven
forest practices and water quality
workshops throughout the country. As
I have suggested, we share common
concerns and we stand on common
ground. Good water pollution preven-
tion practices are also good soil and
water conservation practices. And 1
am determined that we take full ad-
vantage of your expertise and experi-
ence in developing approaches to non-
point source control in the Nation's
forests that enable us to achieve our
objectives under the law at least cost
and greatest benefit."
The Council on Environmental Qual-
ity in its 1975 report on Environmental
PAGE 4
Quality noted that "one of the major
environmental problems involved in
cutting timber is the effects on life in
nearby streams.
"Poor logging practices can harm
fish in several ways," the report said.
"Logging and the building of roads for
logging can erode stream banks and
allow sediments to clog the streams.
Logging debris can stop the stream
flow. Loss of tree cover can change
the stream temperature winter and
summer. Pesticides and fertilizers
from intensive forest management may
pollute the streams.
"Good forestry management can
limit these adverse effects. For exam-
ple, buffer strips are often left uncut
on stream borders. But just how wide
the strip must be to protect the fish
adequately is not well understood.
Nor is it known how long-lasting is
the disruption of fish from nearby
logging or how much wood production
it is reasonable to give up for what
may be a temporary impact on fisher-
ies."
EPA's Region X has published a
manual titled "Logging Roads and
Protection of Water Quality" which is
designed to serve as a state-of-the-art
reference on the protection of water
quality in planning, designing, con-
structing, using, and maintaining log-
ging roads.
Robert S. Burd, Director of the
Water Division in Region X, said that
in addition to this report, environmen-
tal studies of timber harvest methods.
management of slash and other timber
residue, and reforestation are now
being prepared. The Region is also
developing a report on proper meth-
ods for use of chemicals in the forest
to keep to a minimum the impact on
the environment.
"This information coupled with other
EPA, State and Federal agency stud-
ies and the information and talent of
responsible forestry organizations
should provide a good base for decid-
ing what are best practices on specific
sites," Mr. Burd said.
EPA has proposed regulations to
control water pollution resulting from
both agricultural and forestry activi-
ties. The new regulations would re-
quire the use of National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permits
for certain agricultural and forestry
activities.
The proposed regulations recognize
that most forestry activities result in
non-point source pollution which can-
not be controlled by the permit proc-
ess.
The regulations would require dis-
charge permits only for such auxiliary
forestry operations as rock-crushing
and gravel washing for road construc-
tion and log sorting and log storage
yard operations where the use of
water could result in the discharge of
pollutants. The final regulations are
scheduled to be issued this month, a
Lumber roads and clear cutting in a northern California pine forest.
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FARMERS FEEL
By Larry O'NeiU
"The Sting" has been more than an
Academy Award winning movie re-
cently for some pesticide buyers. For
them, it's been an all too real pinch in
the pocketbook.
For example, last year a Colorado
farmer purchased ten gallons of a
weed killing product over the tele-
phone from a New York City sales-
person. The farmer was told that this
herbicide was in a concentrated form
and approved for cropland use. Read-
ing the label only after sale and deliv-
ery, this unwary farmer discov-
ered that the weed killer was neither
concentrated nor permissible for crop
uses. His loss: $160.25 and, presum-
ably, some professional pride.
The problem continues of farmers
and other consumers being "stung"
by telephone misrepresentation of pes-
ticides, especially weed killers. A
March 4 edition of a small town South
Dakota newspaper, for example.
warns readers, "Many chemicals are
being sold by telephone—be careful of
this one or you might find barrels of
questionable products delivered to
your door."
Nor is the pesticide "sting" exclu-
sively a western phenomenon. It has
occurred frequently in the Midwest
and eastern U.S. as well. A North
Carolina grain and hog farmer bought
ten gallons of a herbicide by phone
after being told it would kill weeds
around hog pens for up to two years.
Again, this farmer read the labeling
only after paying $160 for the product.
No claims of two-year effectiveness
were made and, worse, the label
warned of toxicity to livestock.
North Carolina officials have calcu-
lated that some herbicides being
hawked by phone are so diluted that a
user would have to buy $3,289 worth
to treat one acre.
Complaints about phony pesticide
telephone promotions have come into
EPA and State agriculture depart-
ments from consumers in Arizona,
California, Georgia, Kansas, Nevada,
New York, Washington, and West
Virginia, in addition to the States
already mentioned.
Lurry O'Neiit is a Hi-ailc/uurlem Press Officer.
A farmer measures out a soil insecticide for use on his fields.
A concerned coalition of Federal.
State and private organizations is at-
tempting to do something about this
particular sting. Prosecution of sus-
pected firms has been difficult. It's
rough to build a legal case on the
basis of phone conversations. To date,
the coalition has relied primarily upon
a news and public information cam-
paign to make pesticide buyers aware
of the potential hoax. The coalition
consists of EPA, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, the Federal
Trade Commission, other Federal
agencies, several farm organizations
including the National Grange and the
American Farm Bureau, several envi-
ronmental and consumer organiza-
tions, and farm chemicals trade asso-
ciations.
"In most situations, farmers and
other pesticide users should buy prod-
ucts only after they have been able to
read the product label," advises
EPA Administrator Russell E. Train.
"Telephone purchases are all right
only if the buyer is dealing with a
reputable agent personally known to
him.
"The statements and precautions on
pesticide labels are backed up by
intensive scientific study and careful
scrutiny. The label provides a guaran-
tee that the product will do an effec-
tive job in an environmentally safe
way. Users should always read and
follow label instructions when apply-
ing a pesticide."
The claims made by the telephone
hucksters include: the products are
non-toxic to people, livestock, and
fish; they will control all weeds when
in fact they will only control some;
they can be used on crops or pastures
when actually they may damage or
destroy these areas; and they will curb
all weeds for up to three years. Prizes
are sometimes offered to the farmer if
he will buy. The calls are normally
made in the early morning or late
afternoon.
Pesticide buyers should make it un-
mistakably clear to any telephone
huckster that they are not interested in
and will not pay for the weed control
products, the coalition warns. Reports
indicate that wavering buyers have
sometimes been shipped the pesticides
C.O.D.
"The vast majority of pesticide pro-
ducers and dealers in this country
condemn these unethical actions on
the part of a dishonest few," Mr.
Train said.
The coalition urged farmers to help
stop the telephone sales racket by
keeping an accurate record of such
calls and reporting them immediately
to a local agricultural agency or one of
EPA's ten regional offices. Helpful
information would include: date of the
call, caller's name, his company, his
phone number, the product, the manu-
facturer, and the EPA registration
number of the product if one ex-
ists. D
PAGE 5
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Environmental
Detectives Find
Icy Clues
By Truman Temple
Can glaciers serve as a historical
"pollution index" to show what man
has been doing to the global atmos-
phere?
Scientists say the answer is yes,
based on a series of expeditions, sup-
ported by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, to the Himalayas
in Nepal, the Austrian Alps, Uganda,
and this month to the Peruvian An-
des. The $400,000 project is financed
under the Special Foreign Currency
Program of EPA's Office of Interna-
tional Activities, headed by Associate
Administrator Fitzhugh Green.
Glaciers in these remote areas serve
as historical monitors for world-wide
air pollution. Each year the snows fall
on the high mountain passes, carrying
minute traces of whatever pollution
exists in the upper global air, and the
result is a sealed layer of deposits—
much like the annual rings in an
ancient tree—that can be "read" by
specialists. A year's deposit is any-
where from two to five feet thick,
depending on its depth in the glacier,
since it becomes compressed with
time.
So by cutting down through the
glaciers, and analyzing the contents of
the ice for each year, scientists can
find out a great deal about which
pollutants have been traveling far be-
yond national borders. The oldest gla-
cial record found in the Himalayas
was a large fragment of ice sitting on
the floor of a valley, which scientists
dated by radioisotopes back to the
12th century. However, what interests
the investigators most is the pollution
deposited since the Industrial Revolu-
tion began, especially heavy metal and
radioactive panicles.
EPA has been participating with Pol-
ish scientists since 1970 to gather this
information. Dr. Zbigniew Jawo-
rowski, head of the Polish team of
Truman Temple in n Headquarters 1'nhln
Ajfain, Officer.
Dr. Kazimierz Growtowski, a physicist
on the Polish expeditionary team, loading
sample of ice from the Gurgler Ferner
glacier in Austrian Alps. Bucket is lifted
by cable to the surface of glacier and ice
is later melted for analysis of pollution.
PAGE 6
Scientists lift bucket of ice samples from
the Gurgler Ferner glacier in Austrian
Alps during 1974 expedition.
scientists, will visit EPA Headquar-
ters in Washington next month to
discuss results of the latest expedition
to the Ausungate glaciers in the Peru-
vian Andes. Dr. Raymond H. John-
son, Jr., EPA project officer from the
Office of Radiation Programs, will
assist the Polish team later this year in
preparing a final report on the studies.
The aim of the project is to compare
local and long-distance patterns of
dispersion of radioactive elements
such as uranium, thorium, and radium,
as well as stable heavy elements in-
cluding cadmium, vanadium, lead, and
mercury from industrial sources.
Studying the long-term changes will
help scientists predict future trends in
pollution of the biosphere.
-------
So far the investigators have found
both good and bad news about world-
wide air pollution. The bad news is
that even the pristine heights of the
Cherku and Langtang glaciers 40 miles
north of Katmandu in Nepal at an
altitude of more than 18,000 feet are
not free of contamination. Dr. Donald
T. Oakley of EPA's Office of Interna-
tional Activities, who served as proj-
ect officer on the expeditions to Nepal
in 1973 and Austria in 1974, said he
and the Polish team found a marked
increase in deposits of atmospheric
lead over the past 30 years. This
metal is a byproduct of the combus-
tion of coal in power plants and also
may come from the metalworking in-
dustry. The glacial ice also showed a
sharp increase in recent years in con-
centrations of cesium-137, a fission
product of atomic tests.
Radionuclides occur naturally in
coal, and when the fuel is burned the
radioactive material goes up the stack
either as particulate matter or in the
form of gases. Scientists assume the
pollutants travel on global air currents
from industrialized countries many
thousands of miles away, since there
are relatively few sources in Nepal
that could produce such pollutants.
The good news in all this is that
these radioactive materials apparently
do not occur in large concentrations
more than about 30 miles from the
plant site. The team confirmed this by
comparing measurements close to
power stations in Poland with those
taken at remote glaciers. (The in-
creased quantity of radium-226 found
in the Himalayas is believed to come
from natural sources, such as dust
blowing from barren lands nearby,
rather than from power plants in Eu-
rope.)
What's it like to go on an expedition
looking for pollution in ice three and a
half miles above sea level?
"First of all, you have to be in
excellent physical shape," says Dr.
Oakley, who jogged three miles a day
for six months when training for the
project. "And when you get to the
base camp, you have to work there
for a while to allow for an increase in
the oxygen-carrying capacity in your
blood because of the altitude."
Easily the most colorful figure on the
expeditions was Dr. Jaworowski, a
small, stoop-shouldered scientist with
Dr. Zbigniew Jaworowski, head of the
Polish team of scientists, prepares sample
of glacier ice for melting in Alpine warm-
ing hut in Austrian Alps rear Obergurgl.
Dr. Donald T. Oakley of EPA on
Cherku Glacier in Nepal with four
weeks' beard during 1973 expedition to
the Himalayas.
long grey hair and rimless glasses
whose intellectual gifts were quickly
apparent. Says Oakley: "He has not
only an M.D. degree but a Ph.D. and
a doctorate in science. He quoted
Shakespeare and Byron. He could
sing the whole choral section of Bee-
thoven's Ninth Symphony in German
and taught parts of it to our Sherpa
guides. And he was very skillful about
getting equipment and support for the
expeditions."
There were a few problems. One
member of the team, an experienced
alpinist, came down with altitude sick-
ness and had to be sidelined. Then a
three-day blizzard hit the base camp
at 16,000 feet altitude in Nepal with
not only snow but lightning and thun-
der. One tent collapsed under the
winds and drifts. "The occupants
looked like a bag of cats scrambling
around in there," says Oakley, "but
we dug them out and rigged a new
support pole for the tent."
But mostly the expedition was very
hard physical work, cutting down fifty
feet and more through the glacier,
loading chunks of ice into plastic cans,
hauling them up by ropes, and care-
fully melting the contents in a spe-
cially heated tent so the pollutants
could be removed and packed for
analysis back in Poland.
Dr. Jaworowski showed his talent
for handling people with spectacular-
success in Uganda, where the Polish
team had sought to visit a glacier in
the Ruwenzori mountains. What no-
body reckoned on was dealing with
Major Genera! Idi Amin, the presi-
dent of Uganda. For days the team sat
around in the capital without hearing
anything about their request for per-
mission to climb the glacier.
Suddenly, as they were lunching in a
cafe, a limousine drew up and a
uniformed group strode into the cafe.
Dr. Jaworowski recognized President
Amin behind the dark glasses and
knew exactly what to do. He leapt to
his feet and began applauding, and his
fellow scientists took the cue and
joined in.
The President beamed with pleasure.
The next day they were on (heir way
to the mountains. D
PAGE 7
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Sludge Helps a Garden Grow
Y
Routs of new trees in Constitution Gardens arc planted in composted sludge.
Washington's new tourist attraction.
Constitution Gardens on the Mall
near the Lincoln Memorial is built on
soil enriched with carefully composted
sewage sludge.
Beneath the gardens' 42 acres of
trees, grass, and flowering shrubs are
approximately 30,000 cubic yards of
sludge from the District of Columbia's
Blue Plains treatment plant. Sludge is
the residue left after sewage is treated.
Using sludge and other composted
organic materials to lighten and im-
prove the soil has saved the taxpayers
about $200,000, according to officials
of National Capital Parks, the branch
of the National Park Service that
operates most public parks and monu-
ments in the Washington area.
In May the last of 2,400 trees and
about 3,000 shrubs were planted; a
six-acre lake was filled with water;
grass plots were sodded; and walk-
ways, steps, and benches installed.
The area is now ready as a place of
relaxation for Washington's bicenten-
nial visitors and for the presentation of
musical and other entertainments ar-
ranged by the District of Columbia's
PAGE 8
Summer in the Parks program.
The composted sludge technique was
developed by the National Capital
Parks Ecological Services Laboratory
in cooperation with the Agriculture
Department's Research Station at
Beltsviile. Md., and EPA experts in
wastewater treatment. EPA also pro-
vided approximately $2 million to help
finance the sludge treatment research.
The sludge is not applied to the land
directly, according to James C. Patter-
son, Research Agronomist for the
Ecological Services Laboratory. It
first must be composted, or allowed to
decompose. This was done at Belts-
viile, where the sludge was mixed
with wood chips, spread in long win-
drows, or piles, and turned over pe-
riodically by bulldozers. The wood
chips were added (about one part of
chips to three parts of sludge) to
aerate the mixture, keep it from cak-
ing, and hasten its decomposition by
air-breathing bacteria. After several
months of composting the mixture
was friable, homogenous, and virtually
free of odor, ready for trucking to the
site.
At the Gardens the basic grading op-
erations were completed first. The lake
hole was dug and lined with concrete.
Small hills and valleys were con-
toured. Then the composted sludge
and wood chips were further mixed
with leafmold and existing soil. The
leafmold was obtained from leaf piles
collected the year before by the Park
Service, the D.C. Government, and
Arlington County, Va.
All these spreading and mixing oper-
ations were planned to provide a 14-
inch layer of compost-soil mixture
after compaction by machinery
throughout the Gardens, Mr. Patter-
son said. On top of this was spread a
four-inch layer of topsoil. Only about
one-fifth of the needed topsoil was
obtainable at the site; the rest was
purchased.
Total cost of soil preparation and
topsoil was $205,000. Without the
compost layer, the Gardens would
have needed 18 inches of topsoil at a
cost of $408,000. said Mr. Patterson.
Continuous testing of the reconsti-
tuted soil will be carried on to make
sure the trees and grass will flourish.
-------
he said. Some nitrogen fertilizer will
be required, but the sludge-leafmold
mixture is rich in phosphorus and
potassium compounds, so these fertil-
izers will not have to be added.
One cause of concern when sewage
sludge is used as a soil conditioner is
the content of "heavy metals"—salts
of zinc, manganese, cadmium, mer-
cury, lead and other elements that
may be hazardous to plants and hu-
man beings.
The metallic content of the Blue
Plains sludge is low compared to that
of most large cities, Mr. Patterson
explained, because there is little heavy
industry in Washington. Moreover,
the sludge is diluted with wood chips,
leafmold, and soil. Careful measure-
ment on a test plot showed that
soluble salts and heavy metals, pre-
sumed to come mainly from the
sludge content, were reduced to ac-
ceptable levels by natural weathering
and leaching in less than six months.
Pathogenic bacteria are destroyed by
heat during the composting process .
The soil underlying Constitution
Gardens has had a checkered history.
It was once a tidal marsh of the
Potomac River, draining into Tiber
Creek which began about where the
Washington Monument now stands
and ran east toward Capitol Hill and
then south to the Potomac. It was
deepened to form a canal to the foot
of Capitol Hill in 1802 (There are two
Canal Streets in Southwest Washing-
ton a few blocks from EPA Head-
quarters).
In 1831 the canal was extended along
the creek's path as far as the Potomac
River.
The Tiber Creek Canal was intended
for commercial traffic but proved un-
suited for heavy barges and soon fell
into disrepair and became an open
sewer. In 1882 when the Army Corps
of Engineers began to dredge deeper
channels in the Potomac along the
Southwest waterfront and George-
town, the dredged silt was used to fill
the Tiber Creek Canal and to make
two parks along the River, East and
West Potomac Parks.
During World War I "temporary"
office buildings were erected on the
filled land along Constitution Avenue.
They stayed in use until 1969. After
the "tempos" were torn down, more
fill was added from various excava-
tions, principally the Library of Con-
gress Annex, and the level plot was
seeded to grass. The Gardens con-
struction began in August, 1974. D
THE JOURNAL
NEEDS YOUR
HELP
In the year and a half since the EPA
Journal began publication we have
received many encouraging comments
from readers about the publication,
but we would like a little specific
guidance on how the magazine could
be more useful.
Therefore, we have prepared some
questions to find out whether you
believe the articles are informative and
help to keep you posted on Agency
activities. We would appreciate it if
you could take a few minutes to
answer the questions.
At present we try to distribute the
magazine to all EPA employees at
their home address. We do this so
employees will have more leisure to
read the publication and so that other
members of the family can read the
publication if they wish to. A space is
provided on the back page of each
issue for change of address or discon-
tinuance of the publication.
We want to use this opportunity to
check on whether you find it valuable
to have the magazine delivered to
your home.
Now you can help us by answering
the following questions, tearing out
this page and sending it by July 15 in
a government franked envelope or
interoffice mail to: Survey, EPA Jour-
nal, A-107, Waterside Mall, 401 M
St.. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.
I. Do you like receiving the EPA
Journal at home?
Yes D No D
2. Do other members of your family
read the magazine?
Yes D No D
3. Would you prefer to receive the
EPA Journal at the Office?
Yes D No D
4. There are several regular depart-
ments that appear in EPA Jour-
nal. For each one listed, indicate
whether you read it always, some-
times, or never.
News Briefs
Around the Nation
People
Inquiry
Always Sometimes Never
5. What type of job do you hold?
Professional D Clerical Q
6. What age group do you belong to?
Under 30 D. 30 to 40 Q.
Over40D-
7. Do articles in the magazine help
keep you posted about Agency
activities?
Yes D No D
8. Are you experiencing any diffi-
culty in receiving EPA Journal
regularly through the mail?
Yes G No D
9. How frequently do you read it?
Every issue Q, Frequently Q.
Occasionally Q, Seldom fj.
Never Q.
10. Do you ever find articles in EPA
Journal worth reproducing?
Yes D No D
11. How many people besides your-
self would you estimate see or use
the copy of EPA Journal that you
receive?
number of people.
12. Would you like to see more arti-
cles about Headquarters D. the
Regions D, the Laboratories Q.
13. What EPA programs would you
like to read more about in EPA
Journal?
14. Do you have an idea for a worth-
while article EPA Journal should
cany?
15. Do you have any suggestions for
changing or improving the maga-
zine?
You do not have to put your name
on this questionnaire unless you want
an answer. If you are experiencing
any difficulty in receiving the maga-
zine, list your current address on this
page so that we can correct the
problem. °
PAGE 9
-------
YOUR HEALTH
AND AIR POLLUTION
A new film produced hy the Ameri-
can Lung Association in cooperation
with EPA has been completed and is
now available through local and State
lung associations.
Titled "Air Pollution: The Facts."
the film presents the comments of
leading authorities about air pollution
as a health hazard.
Hxcerpts from statements made in
the movie about the impact of dirty air
on human beings follow:
Dr. John Knelson, Director, Health
Effects Research Laboratory, Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C.:
"In the past two or three decades.
the major causes of death and disease
that plagued humankind over the last
several thousand year's have been
brought under control for the most
part. We realize that we are now left
with basically three major disease
processes that cause sickness and
death, and that those are heart disease
. . . lung disease and cancer . . . air'
pollution is a real contributing factor
to disease and death from all three of
these causes."
Dr. Gerschen Shaefer, President. Cali-
fornia Thoracic Society, Chairman,
Environmental Health Committee,
California Medical Association:
"The type of air that we have here
(southern California) looks like an
industrial or factory town. Actually.
we have a minimal amount of industry
and practically nothing that actually
produces stationary pollution. How-
ever, our air pollution is generated
elsewhere, particularly from automo-
biles, and blows on the winds into this
area. The currents of the winds can
carry pollution for hundreds of miles
and unfortunately this area sits in a
spot that carries cross currents of
smog from several areas.
"Up to five or six years ago people
were moving to this area, sent by their
physicians in other parts of the coun-
try, because they had chronic lung
disease, asthma, bronchitis, emphy-
sema. This was the healthiest place,
they felt, in the country that they
PACK 10
could live. You can see what it looks
like now, and this is one of our better-
days. Approximately six months out
of the year we're living in a state of
what I call 'chronic public health
emergency.' As far as the air we
breathe, on days of high pollution 1
will have up to 17 patients who will
have to be worked into my office as
emergencies. These are people who
are having trouble with their breathing
capacity. On bad days, we have to
take the children off the playgrounds.
We have to reschedule Little League
games, and on these occasions we
have seen children vomiting in swim-
ming pools because they have been
exercising."
Before his death in 1973. Robert B. Jones
of Birmingham. Ala., was totally depend-
ent on pure oxygen from the equipment
he carried wherever he went. He was
suffering from emphysema.
Dr. Richard Geer, Pediatrician. Dur-
ango. Color-ado:
"About five years ago, in 1971. it
happened to an area particularly con-
cerned about the opening of four-
major power plants in the Southwest.
Al that time, we did a study of
respiratory lung disease in children
and found an alarming increase, an
almost doubling effect over the five
years. Today we are again concerned
because there are eight to ten, possi-
bly 12 more power plants in the whole
Southwest being contemplated for
opening the next five or ten years. A
lot of people like to come and visit
here from larger metropolitan areas
and I think they're a bit naive. They
look at the sky and say, 'My God.
this is so beautiful we could never
pollute that.' They think the naive
idea that 'we'll build all the power-
plants here and make the power for
Los Angeles and Phoenix.' I think a
lot of research has shown that they
may very well affect our health and
the health of our children."
Bernard Steigerwald, EPA's Deputy
Assistant Administrator for Air Qual-
ity Planning and Standards:
"The control of air pollution is a
tough job that involves a long chain of
complicated, technical information and
regulatory decisions. We've talked
principally about the health effects of
air pollution that form the target. This
target comes out specifically as an air
quality standard which is the goal for
air pollution throughout the country.
"At the other end of the chain is the
control of air pollution. In order to
meet that goal, we have here a re-
search sulfur dioxide scrubber. The
one that we have here is about 1/1000
as large as it must be out in the field.
It can do an effective job of taking
sulfur dioxide out of the exhaust gases
and is a key feature in meeting the air-
quality standard for sulfur dioxide in
most major metropolitan areas.
"The problem of air pollution in
this country has changed a lot over
the past several decades. Air pollution
was thought of as black smoke from
industrial smoke stacks. That gener-
ally is no longer our major problem.
What we have today is much more
subtle and in many ways much more
difficult to control. Just because we
can't see something coming from a
stack does not mean that it's not
making a significant contribution to
the air pollution problem."
-------
Brian Ketcham, Vice President and
Staff Engineer, Citizens for Clean Air:
"When we think of air pollution we
normally think of cars, and for good
reasons. Cars and trucks produce be-
tween 70 and 100 percent of the
carbon monoxide emitted into our
urban centers. Cars and trucks pro-
duce hydrocarbons and oxides of ni-
trogen as well. Motor vehicles con-
tribute as much as 50 percent to the
oxidant problem in our urban centers.
The internal combustion engine, as
designed, uncontrolled, is a fairly dirty
engine. Catalytic converters are one
possible solution to this problem.
They've been installed in 1975 model
automobiles and will be installed in
vehicles in the future. It does a fairly
good job in cleaning up hydrocarbons
and carbon monoxide, but requires a
good deal of consumer maintenance
... to make sure that it does work
effectively. It does not, however, con-
trol oxides of nitrogen or the various
particulates emitted from a passenger
car.
~" Despite the use of catalytic con-
verters on today's cars and the poten-
tial use of alternative power plants in
the future, there's a real question of
whether we can really clean up auto-
motive air pollution in our urban cen-
ters. There are just so many cars and
trucks operating on our streets that
it's virtually impossible to meet
healthy air quality levels within the
foreseeable future without reducing
vehicle use. The real solutions are to
minimize the amount of wasteful
travel. Unnecessary travel today, for
example, consumes virtually 40 per-
cent of the Nation's energy budget.
The Environmental Protection Agency
has promulgated a number of plans for
close to 30 urban centers in which
they have proposed reducing vehicle
use, substituting alternatives such as
car pooling, dial-a-bus, and a vast
increase in the use of public transit
services. These are essential if we are
to ever reach healthy levels of air in
our urban centers."
Dr. Carl Shy, Professor of Environ-
mental Medicine & Director, Environ-
mental Studies Institute, University of
North Carolina:
"Are the air quality standards that
now exist too strict? You've probably
seen ads in a paper making these
claims that we're paying an unusual
cost, a very extreme cost, for achiev-
ing clean air and that we don't have to
have such clean air to preserve human
health.
"The fact of it all is that people
who are concerned about human
health and who have studied air pollu-
tion on health do not feel that the air
quality standards are too strict. Those
standards were set with a relatively
small margin of safety below the level
at which adverse health effects first
occur. They have maybe a one- or
two-fold margin of safety below those
levels that affect human health. For
other standards, such as substances in
food or carcinogens or radiation, we
set as large as 10- to 100-fold safety
standards below the level of adverse
health effects. So 1 don't think that
the standards are anywhere too strict,
even though those claims have been
made."
Dr. Stanley Rakow, Medical Director,
Los Angeles Lung Association:
"We still get flak about 'How do
you know that air pollution is really
responsible for all these disease states
that you talk about?' Admittedly,
when you are dealing with a chronic
illness such as emphysema or chronic
bronchitis, where there are multiple
causes, it's hard to say air pollution is
responsible for 18 percent of this
man's disability.
"The system sort of goes back in
public health annals to typhoid and its
control. It took 40 years for the proof
of the typhoid bacillus and how it got
transmitted to people to be estab-
lished. But some prudent man in
England took the handle off the pump
that was putting out the contaminated
water, 40 years earlier, because of the
association. People drank from that
well and they got typhoid fever.
"Well, that kind of prudent judg-
ment has to be applied in terms of air
pollution today. Those of us in medi-
cal science feel that there is a clear
association between community air
pollution and this complex of diseases,
and that we really can't afford to wait
for 40 years of point-by-point match-
ing of challenge with disease to do
something about it. Things will be too
late by then."
Dr. Bertram Carnow, Professor of
Environmental Medicine, University
of Illinois Medical Center:
"If one wants to look at the cost of
controlling environment and compare
this to the real cost to people, one has
to see that this is a very small cost.
The cost of dying is expensive. The
cost of medical care is the biggest
expense in this society, almost $80
billion. The loss from work, a billion
days a year because of acute respira-
tory illness, is a great cost. People
with emphysema are generally people
who don't work, so that their health
costs are burdens on all of society.
These people enter hospitals twice as
often as other people and they stay
there twice as long. This is a cost for
all of us. Chronic lung disease is the
second highest cause of ... disability
in people under the age of 65. This is
more than $100 million a year. This is
a tremendous cost. So to make com-
parisons is ridiculous. We have to
clean up the air. We have to create a
viable environment for all of our peo-
ple. We cannot tell millions of people
that they cannot live in the cities, that
they have to run away.
"The big question we have to an-
swer now is what will it do over 70
years? What will it do to young
children who have just been born? We
don't know the answer, because we
can't devise experiments that will give
us such a 70-year answer. So if we err
at all, it must be on the side of caution
in order to protect future generations.
"And when I say future genera-
tions, 1 mean that literally, because
one of the bad pollutants, ozone for
example, has been shown to fracture
chromosomes, and this is what may
lead to not only abnormal growth like
cancer but possibly even to abnormal
births.
"What has been happening, is that
we view the air and the water as free
sewers. They are not a free sewer.
The environment will not tolerate con-
tinuous exploitation. At a certain point
it will tolerate no more, and at that
point we are going to have to come to
grips with it and come to some accord
with the environment ... if we are
going to build a better life that all of
us really want." Q
PAGE 11
-------
A
The Air and Water Cleanup
The quality of the Nation's air con-
tinues to improve, EPA told Congress
last month, but much work remains to
be done before the goals set under the
Clean Air Act are attained.
In its annual report to the national
legislature for 1975, the Agency noted;
• Continued reductions in the year-
round average levels of sulfur and
particulates (smoke and soot) in the
air.
• Approved plans in all States and
territories to implement the Act.
• Start of nearly 600 enforcement
actions against industrial polluters,
more legal actions than in the three
previous years combined.
• Inspection of more than 18,000
gasoline service stations to see that
they were selling unleaded fuel.
• Successful defense of Agency ac-
tions in Federal courts.
• Increased research in the health
effects of air pollution and further
development of pollution control
methods.
Deadline
May 31, 1975, was the target date set
for attaining air quality judged neces-
sary to protect public health.
The deadline passed a year ago with
many of the goals unmet.
The best attainment record for the
air quality standards was with sulfur
dioxide, the report said. Of the 247
Air Quality Control Regions, for
which State monitoring stations gather
data and report to EPA, 212, or 86
percent, are expected to meet the
primary standards for sulfur dioxide
when all the figures are in for 1975.
The standard for particulates—
smoke, soot, and invisible bits of solid
and liquid matter—is likely to be met
by 115 air quality regions, or 47
percent.
Each of these standards is defined as
not more than a certain average value
over a full year, plus a higher, 24-hour
value that can occur only once during
the year.
Attainment is lagging for two other
pollutants: carbon monoxide and pho-
tochemical oxidants. Their principal
source is auto exhaust, and their re-
duction depends mainly on EPA's
auto emission control efforts. As pol-
lution-controlled cars replace old ones
on the road these pollutants areexpec-
tea to decline. Steps in applying pol-
lution-control regulations for new cars
have been delayed three times for tech-
nical and economic reasons.
The report notes improvements in
carbon monoxide levels in urban areas
in California, New Jersey, and New
York, and in Washington, D.C. The
8-hour standard is still exceeded, but
less frequently.
Oxidant levels have decreased in San
Francisco and Los Angeles, and re-
search has shown that oxidants—the
principal components of smog—are
not confined to cities, but travel with
prevailing winds into rural and wilder-
ness areas.
The fifth ambient standard is for
nitrogen oxides, another smog compo-
nent, for which the measurement
methods were found in 1973 to give
falsely high readings. (A better, more
reliable method was officially proposed
by EPA in March after two years of
testing.)
All 55 States and Territories have
submitted plans for carrying out the
Clean Air Act in their jurisdictions. A
majority have been approved by EPA,
and in all cases where deficiencies
were found, the Agency has adopted
rules to correct the deficiencies, as it
is entitled to do under the Act.
With a few exceptions (for instance,
sulfur emissions in Ohio) all States
now have fully enforceable emission
limits on stationary-source polluters.
During the year nearly 600 enforce-
ment actions were initiated by EPA
against such stationary sources,
mostly industrial plants, bringing the
total number of such actions to about
1,000 since 1972.
About 20,000 "major" sources have
been identified, and 82 percent of
them are now complying with emis-
sion limits or are on schedules that
will bring them into compliance at
agreed-upon dates.
EPA inspectors visited approxi-
mately 18,500 service stations during
the year to check the availability of
unleaded gasoline needed by new cars
equipped with catalytic converters to
control exhaust pollution. Of about
15,000 samples taken from "no-lead"
pumps, only 160 were found to be
contaminated with lead. The Agency
collected about $31,000 in penalties.
Court Decisions
The Supreme Court upheld EPA's
policy on granting "variances" with a
minimum of red tape. These are usu-
ally extensions of time for a polluter
to attain compliance with State regula-
tions. The Court agreed with the
Agency that when individual variances
do not directly affect air quality stand-
ards they may be treated as revisions
of a State's implementation plan, a
relatively simple procedure.
Federal Circuit Court decisions in
1975 upheld EPA on three important
issues:
(1) Tall smokestacks and "intermit-
tent controls" for power plants and
industries. These may not be used to
meet emission limits, the Court ruled,
unless continuous controls, like stack-
gas scrubbers, are shown to be un-
available.
(2) Performance standards for new
plants. In the first decision of its kind,
the Court supported EPA regulations
on cement kilns and the technical and
economic analysis on which the rules
were based.
(3) The right for Federal and State
enforcement actions to be brought
against a polluter at the same time.
The 171-page report, "Progress in
the Prevention and Control of Air
Pollution in 1975," is available, while the
limited supply lasts, from the Informa-
tion Center, PM-215, EPA, Washing-
ton, D.C. 20460. D
PAGE 12
-------
fftiter ™
The Air and Water Cleanup
While many severe pollution prob-
lems remain, EPA has reported to
Congress that significant improve-
ments have been made in the condi-
tion of the Nation's waterways.
These conclusions are contained in
EPA's 1975 National Water Quality
Inventory Report. The report is based
on information from the Agency's
own studies and from information
supplied by the 50 States and six other
jurisdictions.
Most of the States which described
water quality trends reported that con-
ditions have improved in many water-
ways such as Lake Erie, the Detroit
River, and San Diego Bay as a result
of improved sewage treatment facili-
ties and of controls on industrial waste
discharges.
The report includes the first water
quality assessments made by the
States to comply with a requirement
in the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act. The assessments describe
current water quality conditions, the
effects of existing water pollution con-
trol programs, and the expected costs
and benefits of current and proposed
future programs.
Twenty-three of the 32 States which
provided an over-all evaluation re-
ported that while difficult pollution
problems persist, "most of their
waters were of good quality or already
met the 1983 goals.
"The (EPA) 1974 report concluded
that oxygen demanding loads and coli-
form bacteria levels were improving,
even though significant problems did
remain. The report also concluded
that nutrient levels were increasing
across the country. The 1975 report
shows that the States in general agree
with those conclusions, although sev-
eral report improvements in nutrient
levels. In addition, some States noted
improvements in the levels of certain
harmful chemicals from industrial
wastes."
A review of the State reports leads
to the following genera! conclusions
for the major pollutants:
• Levels of harmful substances
such as heavy metals and various
chemical compounds have improved
in some areas as a result of munici-
pal and industrial waste treatment.
However, significant problems from
heavy metals and harmful chemicals
still exist, primarily in the industrial
States in the Northeast and around
the Great Lakes. Also, several cen-
tral and southern States report prob-
lems from pesticides.
• Some western and southern
States have reported increases in
temperature and turbidity from
stream modifications for flood control
and irrigation.
• Most States report high levels
of phosphorus and nitrogen which
speed aging of lakes. In addition, the
nutrient measurements were the only
ones for which a significant number
of States report worsening trends,
although a larger number do cite
improvements.
• Mining areas across the country
reported problems with acid mine
drainage. High salinity levels from
various sources were also reported
for'many areas.
• Many States noted improve-
ments in dissolved oxygen levels
over the last five years, although
almost all States did report that their
water quality standards for dissolved
oxygen were violated in some areas.
• Almost all States also listed
health hazards as indicated by high
coliform bacteria counts as a signifi-
cant problem. Excess coliform bacte-
ria levels caused by municipal dis-
charges have been reduced in many
States following installation of ade-
quate treatment facilities.
All of the States report at least one
type of water pollution within their
borders, and most of them have prob-
lems with several different pollutants.
The most widely discussed problems
were low dissolved oxygen levels (46
of 52 reports), health hazards from
excessive coliform bacteria counts (45
of 52 reports), and high nutrient con-
centrations (43 of 52 reports). Other
widespread pollution conditions may
exist, but would not be noted by as
many States because they were not as
widely monitored.
• The northeastern and Great
Lakes States report that their prob-
lems with low dissolved oxygen, high
nutrient concentrations, and excess
coliform bacteria are primarily due to
municipal and industrial sources, in-
cluding urban runoff. The central and
southwestern States generally identi-
fied sources such as agricultural run-
off as the major causes of these
problems.
• The central and southwestern
States identified turbidity and salinity
as particular problems, while indus-
trial States around the Great Lakes
reported problems from chemical
wastes.
• Waters in several areas of the
country were of poor quality due to
natural conditions. Many central and
southwestern States report high
background levels of salinity and
turbidity, while several southern
States describe low dissolved oxygen
levels due to swamp conditions.
The States generally agreed on the
need for increased emphasis to control
both urban and rural runoff, the pri-
mary concerns for most States which
expected some of their waters would
not attain the 1983 goals of the 1972
Act.
Most States provide estimates for the
costs of municipal wastewater treat-
ment, and 13 of them also estimate
industrial control costs. Ten of the 13
States estimating industrial costs re-
ported those costs to be less than 25
percent of their municipal treatment
costs.
Mining areas across the country re-
port pollution problems arising from
acid mine drainage. Several western
States, among them Arizona, Colorado
and Montana, report heavy metal con-
centrations in their waterways due to
mining operations.
The results from EPA's National
Water Quality Surveillance System, a
nationwide network of 188 water mon-
itoring stations, indicate that high lev-
els of bacteria and nutrients are
strongly related to municipal and in-
dustrial activity. Farming, with its
extensive use of fertilizers, has con-
tributed to high nutrient levels in
many waterways.
Copies of the Water Quality Inven-
tory are available from: Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Water
Programs, Water Quality Analysis
Branch (WH-553), Washington, D.C.,
20460. o
PAGE 13
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THE AMERICAN SCENE
These photos are of paintings in
"America 1976," an art show de-
picting the activities of the Depart-
ment of the Interior in conservation
of natural resources. The exhibi-
tion which includes the work of
forty-five American artists of re-
gional and national prominence
opened at the Corcoran Gallery of
Art in Washington and is now be-
ginning a tour of major city mu-
seums around the United States.
The stunning show was initiated by
John DeWitt, director of visual arts
programs for the Department of
the Interior.
The Coke Works at Clairton, Pa., by Rackstraw Dowries. This scene on the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh shows the largest "slot-
oven" plant in the world. Here coal is converted to coke for tne production of steel and chemicals.
PAGE 14
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Agua Caliente Nova by Robert Bechtle. In the distance is Palm Canyon in the Reservation of the Agua Caliente Band of Mission Indians
near Palm Springs, Calif. In the foreground are evidences of civilization through which much of nature must now be viewed.
The Ellis River in Pinkham Notch by Robert Jordan. A view of the river as seen from
the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in New Hampshire.
Continental Divide by Ben Schonzeit. Sweeping views of high mountain slopes in
Colorado.
The Final Redwoods by John Button.
These are the coast redwoods, Sequoia
sempervirens, the tallest of all trees which
now grow as a natural forest only in a
narrow strip along the northern California
coast and in southernmost Oregon.
PAGE 1>
-------
OPLEPEOPLEPEOP
\ndrew J. McKrlean
Andrew J. McErtean, Director of the
Ecological Processes and Effects Di-
vision, Office of Research and Devel-
opment, has been appointed Associate
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Health and Ecological Effects, report-
ing to Dr. Roy Albert.
Dr. McKrlean, 44, joined EPA in
1972 as Senior Staff Biologist in the
Office of Enforcement and General
Counsel and has been with the Office
of Research and Development since
1974.
He is a native of Rockaway Beach,
N.Y.. and served four years in the
Marine Corps before attending Adel-
phi University, Garden City, N.Y.,
where he earned bachelor's and mas-
ter's decrees in biology. He then
worked four years as a research as-
sistant at the University of Maryland's
Department of Environmental Re-
search and won a Public Health Serv-
ice fellowship for continued study
there. The University awarded him a
Ph.D. in /oology in 1969. He was
project coordinator for the Univer-
sity's Chesapeake Research Consor-
tium for two years before joining
EPA.
Dr. McKrlean is a member of the
American Institute of Fishery Re-
search Biologists, member and past
president of the Atlantic Estuarine
Research Society, and member and
former vice president of the Estuarine
Research Foundation.
He is married to the former Toby
Schneidman of New York City. They
have four children.
PAGE 16
William Gillespie
William GUlespie has been appointed
Director of the Management Division,
Region VI, Dallas, and will start his
duties there some time this month. He
has been Deputy Director of the
Management and Organization Divi-
sion. Office of Planning and Manage-
ment, in Washington.
Mr. Gillespie, 35, grew up in Potts-
ville. Pa., and is a graduate of Penn-
sylvania State University. He began
his Federal service 13 years ago
with the Defense Supply Agency, and
he has worked for the Department of
the Navy and the Federal Water
Quality Administration, one of EPA's
predecessor agencies.
He has taken postgraduate studies in
public administration at Drexel Insti-
tute, Philadelphia, and George Wash-
ington University, Washington.
Robert McDonald, Special Assistant
to the Administrator, left the Agency
on May 21 to go to the International
Paper Co., New York City, as Assist-
ant Vice President for Personnel.
Mr. McDonald came 10 EPA in
September 1971 as Special Assistant
in the Office of Planning and Manage-
ment, and he served in that post until
January 1973, when he joined Mr.
Train's staff.
Charles A. Lincoln was recently ap-
pointed Chief of the Pesticides Branch
for Region I, Boston. He formerly-
held the same position in Region V.
Dr. Lincoln is a native of Massachu-
setts and a graduate of the State
university at Amherst. He earned his
master's and doctor's degrees from
the N.Y. State College of Forestry,
Syracuse, N.Y.
Clifford V. Smith, Jr.
Clifford V. Smith, Jr., EPA's Region
X Administrator, has resigned to take
an executive post with the Bechtel
Corporation, an engineering construc-
tion company, in San Francisco.
Dr. Smith had been appointed Re-
gional Administrator in August, 1974,
after more than 20 years of profes-
sional experience in the environmental
engineering and management field. He
had formerly served as Deputy Re-
gional Administrator in EPA's Region
I office in Boston. In 1973, EPA gave
him its highest award, the Gold
Medal for Exceptional Service.
Diana Dutton has been named Re-
gional Counsel for Region VI, Dallas.
She is the third woman to hold such a
post in EPA.
Ms. Dutton, 31, is a native of Sher-
man, Texas, and earned a B.S. in
international affairs at Georgetown
University's School of Foreign Serv-
ice in Washington before studying law
at the University of Texas, Austin.
She was associate editor of the Texas
Law Review and won her doctorate in
jurisprudence in 1971.
She joined EPA that year and has
served as staff attorney in the Region
VI Enforcement Division and, since
1973, as Assistant Regional Counsel.
She was coordinator of the Federal
Women's Program for Region VI for
two years and has headed the
Women's Committee of the Dallas-
Fort Worth Federal Executive Board
since 1974. She was awarded EPA's
Bronze Medal for Meritorious Service
in 1973.
She is married to Tony Grindl.
-------
DPLEPEOPLEPEOP
James M. Conlon
Robert V. Zener, EPA's General
Counsel, is leaving the Agency to
become a partner with the law firm
of Pepper, Hamilton, and Scheetz of
Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Mr. Zener has been EPA's principal
legal advisor and head of the Office of
General Counsel since January, 1975.
He had served as Deputy General
Counsel since April 1973, and he
joined the Agency in March 1971 as
Associate General Counsel for Water.
Earlier he spent eight years at the
Department of Justice where he was
Assistant Chief of the Appellate Sec-
tion of the Civil Division.
Administrator Train has announced
his intention to appoint G. William
Frick, now Deputy General Counsel,
to the office of General Counsel.
George J. Putnicki, Deputy Adminis-
trator for Region VI, Dallas, was
honored recently by the Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare for
his work in the resettling of Indochina
war refugees at Fort Chaffee, Ark.
Working with EPA staff members
and a team of U.S. Army personnel,
Mr. Putnicki analyzed the environ-
mental impact of the sudden addition
of 28,000 persons at the Chaffee facil-
ity and developed plans to assure safe
drinking water, sewage treatment,
solid waste disposal, and control of
disease. EPA provided monitoring
equipment and training to Army per-
sonnel, and averted potentially disas-
trous environmental effects.
HEW Regional Administrator Stuart
H. Clarke presented a citation to Mr.
Putnicki at a special ceremony in
Dallas April 20.
Douglas M. MacMillan
James M. Conlon has assumed a new
post as Associate to Edwin L. John-
son. Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Pesticide Programs, in Washing-
ton.
A Public Health Service Officer for
13 years, Mr. Conlon had been with
EPA's Region V Office in Chicago
since the Agency was founded, his
last post there being Director of the
Air and Hazardous Materials Divi-
sion.
Born in Davenport, Iowa. 37 years
ago, Mr. Conlon was brought up in
Springfield. 111., and earned a B.S. in
chemistry at Illinois College, Jackson-
ville, in 1961. He worked for the
Illinois Department of Public Health
for three years before receiving his
PHS comm'ission. After an assign-
ment with the Oklahoma State Health
Department, Oklahoma City, he was
sent to graduate school at the Univer-
sity of Oklahoma, where he won an
M.S. of Engineering (Civil), and be-
came a radiation specialist with the
Bureau of Radiological Health in
Washington.
In 1969 he was sent to the Regional
Office in Chicago as Deputy Radiol-
ogical Health Representative.
Mr. Conlon is married to the former
Donna Ebe! of Springfield, 111. They
have four daughters.
•''-^ Hekn B«gj>un
Douglas M. MacMillan has been ap-
pointed Director, Division of Manage-
ment and Organization, by Alvin L.
Aim, Assistant Administrator for
Planning and Management.
Mr. MacMillan will assume his new
duties this month following a long-
term training assignment at Harvard
University. He has been Director of
Region I's Management Division
since 1973.
A graduate of the University of
Washington and holder of a law de-
gree from Georgetown University,
Mr. MacMillan is scheduled to re-
ceive a master's degree in public
administration from Harvard this
month.
He began Federal service in 1963 as
a foreign service officer with the U.S.
Information Agency, and he served
with the Department of Health. Edu-
cation, and Welfare and with the
Office of Economic Opportunity be-
fore joining EPA's Region I Office in
Boston in 1972.
Helen Beggun, formerly with the Pro-
gram Analysis Division. Office of Re-
sources Management, in Washington.
has been appointed Chief of the
Grants Administration Branch in Re-
gion H, New York City.
Ms. Beggun has had 10 years of
Federal service, including six years
with the Navy Department as a Pro-
gram Analyst.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., she
grew up in New Jersey and was
graduated summa cum laude in 1964
from Fairleigh Dickinson University
in Rutherford. N.J. She was a teacher
in the Dade County, Fla., public
schools for two years.
PAGE 17
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REGION VI
Region VI is a 560,550-square-mile
piece of real estate comprising the
states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New
Mexico. Oklahoma, and Texas. It
stretches east-west from the Missis-
sippi River to Arizona and north-
south from Kansas, Colorado, and
Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico and
the Mexican border.
Thousands of coves and inlets pro-
vide a meandering shoreline of 11,080
miles that includes some of the na-
tion's most delightful ecological phe-
nomena—and some of the most chal-
lenging environmental problems.
While the sheer magnitude of the
Region implies big skies and room to
roam, this spaciousness has been di-
minished recently by intensive indus-
trial development and population
growth. Pollution now touches remote
areas as well as great cities like Hous-
ton, New Orleans, Little Rock, Okla-
homa City, Albuquerque, and Dallas.
It has pointed up anew the environ-
mental dangers of offshore drilling and
the necessity for preserving the quality
of coastal waters as well as lakes,
streams, and underground reservoirs.
It pinpointed trouble spots like the
Houston Ship Channel and the lower
Mississippi. It brought into focus the
air pollution in Houston, San Antonio,
Dallas-Fort Worth, and the possible
need for oxidant controls for growing
metropolitan regions.
Discussing his environmental goals,
John C. White, Region VI Adminis-
trator, states: "It isn't enough to bring
pollution to a stalemate. Pollution
must be reduced to an acceptable
level, then kept there. This shrinking
process in Region VI is well under
way. We regard the past year as a
turning point in the critical environ-
mental areas of ocean pollution, oil
spill response, the permit program,
construction grants, and increased par-
ticipation by the public as well as
State and local governments."
Region VI is particularly proud of its
success in reducing the volume of
toxic materials dumped into the Gulf
of Mexico from 1,400,000 tons in 1973
to 140,000 tons in 1975-^a 90 percent
reduction. Shell Chemical Company,
under a permit this year, is committed
to finding an alternative to ocean
Downtown Dallas skyline with convention center in foreground.
PAGE 18
disposal by August 1, 1977.
Under a research permit from EPA,
Shell burned tons of chlorinated hy-
drocarbons aboard the Dutch incinera-
tor ship Vulcanus off the Texas coast
with minimum impact on the environ-
ment. The company's application for
a permit to conduct more incineration
tests in the Gulf is pending.
Region VI includes four of the five
largest oil producing States and the
largest offshore production area. It
has the largest network of refineries,
petrochemical plants, and pipelines,
plus 12 ports for ocean-going vessels
and the prospect of four new super-
tanker ports. All of these facilities
create a high potential for spills of oil
and hazardous substances. While spills
on coastal waters are the responsibil-
ity of the U.S. Coast Guard. EPA
serves as on-scene coordinator for all
major inland oil spill cleanup opera-
tions. EPA monitors the cleanup oper-
ations and assumes full control if the
spiller fails to take proper action.
Since full implementation last year of
the Region's Spill Prevention Control
and Countermeasure Plans, major re-
ported oil spills in the Region have
declined by approximately 28 percent.
Further improvement is expected as
State agencies take more active roles
in spilt investigations.
A consortium of six oil companies
plans to construct a $350-million deep-
water port for oil tankers off the
Louisiana coast, about 20 miles south
of Grand Isle. The port would be
capable of unloading more than 1.4
million barrels of crude oil a day from
tankers too big to use existing ports.
A prime goal in Region VI air
pollution control is to assist State and
local agencies in attaining and main-
taining the national air quality stand-
ards. Our assistance has been both
financial and technical. Funds in ex-
cess of $4,500,000 were made availa-
ble to the Region's five States either
as direct grants or in consultant assist-
ance. For both fiscal years 1975 and
1976, Region VI has worked closely
with the States in program planning in
setting goals and meeting objectives of
the Clean Air Act. Progress is re-
viewed periodically, and problem
areas are reviewed so that mid-course
corrections can be made. Significant
results of the program have been
greater coordination among Federal,
State and local program activities and
the reduction or elimination of con-
flicting activities.
The State Implementation Plans re-
-------
Canoeing down the beautiful Illinois
River in Oklahoma.
quired by the Clean Air Act continue
to be the primary tool for achieving
clean air. The plans originally submit-
ted in 1972 are refined from time to
time as new problems or solutions
arise. Changes accomplished or pro-
posed include (1) revisions to the
Arkansas plan to control particulate
emissions; (2) revisions to the Louisi-
ana plan to control primary aluminum
smelter particulate emissions; (3) revi-
sions of the Oklahoma plan to control
hydrocarbon emissions and sulfur
dioxide emissions; (4) revisions to the
New Mexico plan to control sulfur
dioxide from smelters and carbon
monoxide from mobile sources in the
Albuquerque area; (5) and revisions to
the Texas plan to control hydrocarbon
emissions from both stationary and
mobile sources of sulfur dioxide from
smelters.
Plans being developed to control hy-
drocarbon emissions include many
measures which would conserve pe-
trochemical products (mostly gasoline)
in addition to improving air quality.
These measures include vapor recov-
ery from gasoline and other petroleum
compound storage tanks and transfer
operations; voluntary inspection and
maintenance of motor vehicles; also
carpooling and incentives to use public
transportation. As proposed for cer-
tain areas in Texas, these measures
would save each year about 4] million
gallons of gasoline, valued at about
$20 million, plus an additional 13
million gallons of other petroleum
products worth about $2 million.
For years the industry-lined Houston
Ship Channel held the distinction of
being one of the worst-polluted water-
ways in the world. Today this tidal
channel, which brings ocean-going
vessels into Houston, is undergoing a
cleanup. The quality of the stream is
so improved that Houston newspapers
recently carried photographs of tarpon
caught by fishermen near the junction
of the Ship Channel and Vince's
Bayou—an area where tarpon had not
been seen in more than a quarter of a
century. The Channel cleanup task is a
joint effort. Dischargers accounting
for about 85 percent of the Channel's
pollution load are under permit and
obligated to complete abatement facil-
ites by July of next year.
Another trouble spot is the lower
Mississippi, source of drinking water
for New Orleans. Extensive research
is being conducted to determine the
full extent of chemical pollution and
its possible impact on public health.
The Edwards underground reservoir,
which sprawls for 175 miles across
several counties in south central
Texas, is a geological phenomenon
which supplies drinking water for the
City of San Antonio, five large mili-
tary installations, 16 small towns and
cities, and hundreds of farms and
ranches. Under the Safe Drinking
Water Act, EPA Administrator Russell
E. Train recently designated the aqui-
fer as the sole or principal drinking
water source for the area, thus bring-
ing it under limited protection by
denying Federal financial assistance to
any project that could pollute the
reservoir. Although the issue is a
controversial one, with developers and
environmentalists on opposing sides,
the decision is the first of its kind and
may become a precedent for other
decisions involving underground water
supplies.
All around the Region the tempo of
pollution control is increasing—and
with some notable results. In the fiscal
year ending June 30, the Region ex-
pects to have awarded $245 million in
grants to more than 600 towns, cities,
and water districts for the construction
of new and improved wastewater
treatment facilities.
Section 208 of the Water Pollution
Control Act Amendments calls upon
local governments to find and imple-
ment solutions to common water qual-
ity management problems. It calls for
EPA grants to help local governments
cover their planning costs. Areas
which have received grants and have
begun planning efforts include Tulsa
and Oklahoma City in Oklahoma and
Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San An-
tonio, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Corpus
Christi, McAllen-Brownsville, and
Texarkana in Texas.
Town meetings, public hearings, and
widespread publicity have been used
to develop maximum public support
and participation for the 208 program
and all other Region VI activities.
The issuance of discharge permits
continues, although more attention is
being given to compliance monitoring.
State assistance in the drafting of
permits has accelerated the program
and strengthened enforcement efforts.n
Majestic mountain view is from Emory
Pass in southwestern New Mexico, near
the mining town of Santa Rita.
A forested national park at Hot Springs,
famous vacation resort and convention
center.
PAGE 19
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The Great Southwest
By John F Bradford
The five States of Region VI, tradi-
tionally known as "the Great South-
west," are home to nearly 25 million
people whose outdoor pursuits range
from muskrat trapping in Louisiana to
elk hunting -in New Mexico, from
water skiing in Arkansas to bronc
riding in Oklahoma and deep sea
fishing off the Texas coast. Perhaps
no geographical region of comparable
size is more diversified in culture,
history, resources, and economy.
Even their brief official slogans tell
something of the heritage of these five
States: Arkansas, "Land of Opportu-
nity"; Louisiana, "Pelican State";
Oklahoma, "Sooner State"; New
Mexico, "Land of Enchantment"; and
Texas, "Lone Star State."
Some of the assets of Region VI are
great oil- and gas-producing areas, a
764-mile coastline fringing the Gulf of
Mexico, the Misssissippi River and its
vast estuary ecosystem, huge agricul-
tural resources, major forest areas, the
new Arkansas River waterway that
brings ocean navigation into Tulsa,
Okla., the Gulf Intracoastal Water-
way; national and state forests, min-
erals, a major livestock industry, wild-
life, sports and recreation.
Arkansas, population 2 million, has
18,500,000 acres of oak, hickory, gum
cypress, and pine. Forest industries,
including some of the nation's largest
pulp and paper mills, have an annual
payroll exceeding $500 million. Cotton
accounts for 48 percent of farm in-
come. Arkansas mines lead the Nation
in bauxite (aluminum ore) production.
The State is second in rice and third in
chicken production. Oil is the main
mineral product, but natural gas and
stone are highly important. The $1.2-
billion Arkansas River program'in-
volving navigation, flood control, and
power developments, completed in
1971, provided a big boost to the
State's economy.
Freshwater fishing, duck hunting in
southeastern lowlands, and recreation
areas in 21 state parks and three
national forests attract many visitors
to Arkansas. Reservoir recreation
areas at Norfolk, Bull Shoals, Nim-
rod, and Dardanelle are the forerun-
ners of additional facilities that will
further popularize the State as a tour-
ist attraction. There are 47 hot springs
PAGE 20
in Hot Springs National Park, which
is surrounded by the City of Hot
Springs. A multimillion-dollar modern
wastewater treatment plant partially
funded by EPA will soon serve Hot
Springs and the nearby Ouachita
Basin lakes, removing a pollution
threat of serious dimension to the lake
community.
Louisiana, pushing a population of 4
million, blends a wealth of historic
charm, rich natural resources, and
giant modern industries. Fertile soil,
huge mineral deposits, and over 7,000
miles of navigable waterways linking
the State with the heart of theNationare
factors basic to the State's prosperity.
The immediate prospect of offshore
deep-water ports, plus acceleration of
offshore drilling for oil and gas, give
promise of a whole new dimension in
Louisiana's economy. Its strategic
coastal position links the State with
world-wide commerce.
Mardi Gras and other festivals, the
beat of Dixieland jazz in the land of
its origin, and nostalgic relics of the
days of French and Spanish rule and
the prosperous pre-Civil War era are
among the attractions which bring an
estimated $710 million a year in tourist
revenues. In total value of its mineral
output, Louisiana is second only to
Texas. Recent reports show it first in
the value of its natural gas, sulfur, and
salt production, and second in petro-
leum, much of which comes from
offshore production. Louisiana
marshes supply most of the Nation's
muskrat fur. The annual catch of
saltwater fish, shrimp, and oysters is
valued at around $80 million.
Louisiana Creoles are descendants of
early French and Spanish settlers.
About 4,000 Acadians, French settlers
in Nova Scotia, Canada, were forcibly
transported by the British to Louisiana
in 1755 (an event commemorated by
Longfellow's Evangellne) and settled
near Bayou Teche. Their descendants,
who became known as Cajuns, remain
a strong influence in the culture of the
Louisiana bayou country.
New Mexico, population nearly one
million, is a land of contrasts, present-
ing remnants of old Indian and Span-
ish cultures along with nuclear and
John F. Bradford is it Region VI public
information specialist.
space research centers, plus moun-
tains over 13,000 feet high, ski slopes,
and the great Carlsbad Caverns. Vast
areas are made fertile by irrigation via
dams and reservoirs on the Rio
Grande, San Juan, Pecos, Canadian,
Cimarron, Gila, and San Francisco
rivers. National forests cover 13,231
square miles. Douglas fir, ponderosa
pine, and spruce are cut for timber.
Almost 34 percent of the land area is
federally owned. While minerals are
New Mexico's richest natural re-
source, manufacturing industries have
grown and diversified. Principal lines
are food products, chemicals, trans-
portation and ordnance equipment,
lumber, and electrical machinery. Its
minerals include gold, silver, zinc,
lead, and molybdenum.
Mining and increased industrializa-
tion today add both wealth and people
along with pollution problems little
known to New Mexico a decade ago.
The nuclear power industry has fo-
cused new attention on New Mexico
as the nation's leading source of ura-
nium, bringing expansion of milling
and mining operations, with attendant
pollution hazards. Coal gasification
gives promise of air pollution relief in
regions beset by emission control
problems. The demand for uranium
rights has brought on extensive leasing
by groups and agencies that include
the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Spaniards seeking gold explored
New Mexico in the early 16th. cen-
tury, and the area was labeled New
Mexico on a 1583 map. The land remained
under Spain until 1821, then under
Mexico until U.S. troops occupied it
in 1846. It became a State in 1912. Its
capital, Santa Fe, is one of the oldest
cities in the U.S.
New Mexico has four large Indian
reservations and 19 inhabited pueblos,
including Acoma, the "sky city" built
atop a 357-foot mesa. There are
pueblo ruins from 1000 A.D. in Chaco
Canyon. The Indian, Mexican, and
Anglo cultures blend harmoniously in
a progressive relationship evident
throughout the State.
Oklahoma, population now reaching
toward 3 million, birthplace and home
of the great humorist, Will Rogers,
also is a leader in oil and gas produc-
tion. Other minerals include helium,
-------
gypsum, zinc, cement, coal, copper.
and silver. Its fertile plains annually
produce one of the Nation's largest
wheat crops, also large crops of
sorghum, peanuts, and soybeans. To-
tal tourist revenues are estimated at
more than $500 million annually. At-
tractions, include 28 State parks, large
lakes and reservoirs such as Eufala
and Texoma, the Ouachita National
Forest, Indian pow-wows, the Na-
tional Cowboy Hall of Fame, the
Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma
City, the Will Rogers Memorial at
Claremore, and the Woolaroc Mu-
seum near Bartlesvilie. Oklahoma, like
Arkansas, is a beneficiary of the Ar-
kansas River waterway, which gives
Tulsa a "seaport."
Part of the Louisiana Purchase in
1803, Oklahoma was known as "Jn-
dian Territory" after it became the
home of five civilized tribes—Chero-
kee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek,
and Seminole from 1828 to 1846. The
land also was occupied by Comanche,
Osage and other Plains Indians. As
white settlers pressed west, land was
opened for homesteading by "runs"
and lotteries. A run was a race for
land claims at a specific time. The
first run took place April 22, 1889.
The most famous was the run to the
Cherokee Outlet in 1893. The territo-
ries were joined by Congress in the
State of Oklahoma and admitted to
the Union in 1907. Oklahoma's Indian
population in 1970 was 98,468—the
largest of any State.
EPA's Robert S. Kerr Laboratory at
Ada, stands as a monument to the late
Oklahoma Senator.
Texas, population about 14 million.
leads all other States in many cate-
gories, among them oil. cattle, sheep.
and cotton. While these are basic to
the Texas economy, manufacturing, as
measured in terms of value added,
makes a greater contribution than
either mineral output or farm income.
Second in size only to Alaska. Texas
normally produces a third of the Na-
tion's petroleum and is the leading
producer of asphalt, graphite, natural
gas liquids, and magnesium chloride.
Louisiana and Texas are the leading
producers of natural gas, and Texas
ranks second in output of sulfur.
salt, helium, and bromine. Recent
figures give Texas a big lead in annual
cattle production—15,350,000 head-
exceeding the State's human popula-
tion. Its well diversified agricultural
industry makes the State a major
producer of rice, timber, peanuts, pe-
cans, sorghum, sweet potatoes, grape-
fruit, turkeys, peaches, and roses.
Tourists spend an estimated $2 bil-
lion dollars annually in Texas. Sev-
enty State parks, recreation areas and
historic sites include the Big Bend and
Guadalupe Mountain National Parks
and the Fort Davis National Historic-
Site. There is also a national historic
site, a national park and a state park
marking the birthplace of former Pres-
ident Lyndon B. Johnson.
A phenomenon of Texas industrial
growth has been the rise and expan-
sion of a giant petrochemical industry
along the Houston Ship Channel, a
tidal gateway linking Houston with
the Gulf of Mexico. Here a vast
complex of industrial giants produces
products used throughout the world
and provides a payroll that is the
backbone of the Houston economy.
Cooperative efforts by Federal. State
and local authorities and the industries
themselves are being made to curb the
extremely complex air and water pol-
lution problems in the Channel area.
Thus, we see that Region VI is a
geographical, economical, and cultural
conglomerate which requires continu-
ing strong pollution controls. In most
parts of the Region, the air and water
are getting cleaner, noise pollution is
being diminished, and better systems
for handling solid and hazardous
wastes are being devised. Ocean
dumping has been reduced; pollution
from pesticides is growing less. Not-
withstanding this progress, the Region
faces some monumental environmental
problems, not the least of which is
hydrocarbon and sulfur dioxide pollu-
tion from automobiles in some of the
larger cities.
Region VI is big and beautiful. It
took muscle to develop its strength
and productivity. It will take muscle
to regain and preserve its environmen-
tal integrity. D
Region VTs Leadership Team
Klroy "Ray" Lozano. • * J. Paul Comola, Assistant
Director, Air and Hazardous John C. White. Regional Administrator for
Materials Division Regional Administrator Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations
Myron Knudson, Director, Dr. Richard L. Hill. Diana Dutton.
Surveillance and Analysis Director, Water Division Regional Counsel
George J, Putnicki. Deputy Thomas Harrison, Director.
Regional Administrator Enforcement Division
PAGE 21
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solar energy
Wilton, Maine, will build the first
sewage treatment plant in New England
using solar energy to heat the building
and the sludge digesters. Methane gas
from the digesters will also be used for
additional heating and possibly to run
an auxiliary electric generator. EPA has
awarded Wilton a SB-million grant for
construction of the plant, pumping
station, interceptor, sewer, and force
main.
annual report due
Region I is putting the finishing touches
on its second annual report.
Environmental Quality in New
England. The report, which will discuss
air and water quality, drinking water
supplies, and solid waste management
in the six-State region, will be released
next month.
earth day stamp
Region I's fourth Earth Day
environmental stamp was recently
issued in an edition of 250,000.
Designed by Gene Parker of the
Regional Office's graphics staff, the
red, white, and blue stamp combines
environmental and bicentennial themes.
camden sued
On behalf of Region II, the Justice
Department has filed a civil suit against
Camden, N.J., to force the city to
PAGE 22
operate its two sewage treatment plants
properly. The plants were designed to
process 40 million gallons of wastewater
per day. EPA inspectors found the
plants discharging effluent into the
Delaware River after inadequate
treatment or, in some cases, no
treatment at all. The U.S. Attorney is
seeking the maximum penalty of
$10,000 per day of violation, which
amounts to 58,140,000.
high-sulfur fuels
Region II officials have opposed recent
moves to approve the burning of high-
sulfur fuels in New York City and
southern New Jersey. At a hearing on
the application of New York's
Consolidated Edison Company for a
variance to bum such fuel. Deputy
Regional Administrator Eric Outwater
said the claimed savings would be only
40 cents per month to the average
household consumer and the utility
would discharge an additional 50.000
tons of air pollutants annually.
EPA also denounced as premature and
illegal New Jersey's announced
decision to allow 10 plants in the
southern part of the State to burn high-
sulfur fuel. The State's decision was
made. Regional officials said, without
EPA approval, which can be given only
after technical studies, discussions and
public hearings. The State has now
agreed to comply with these
procedures.
highway planning
The Federal Highway Administration's
transportation plans for the
Philadelphia-Trenton, Baltimore, and
Washington, D.C., areas are
inconsistent with air quality plans for
these cities, according to Regional
Administrator Daniel J. Snyder III. He
has recommended that the FHA
withdraw its certification of these plans
and withhold funding of all highway
projects associated with them.
However, Mr. Snyder urged continued
funding of mass transit projects in the
three areas.
first application
Region III recently received its first
"significant deterioration" application
from an industrial plant. The Delmarva
Power and Light Co. seeks a permit to
build a new 400-megawatt coal-fired
generating station at Indian River, Del.
Regional officials are reviewing the
application to assure that air quality in
the area, already cleaner than average,
will not suffer significant deterioration if
the plant is built.
phosphate mine study
EPA will be the leading Federal agency
in a comprehensive study of the
environmental effects of phosphate strip
mining and processing. The study was
ordered recently by President Ford
after an EPA report indicated that
people living on land reclaimed after
phosphate mining were six times more
likely to contract lung cancer than
people living elsewhere.
The new study, in which the
Department of Interior's Bureau of
Mines will also take part, is
independent of the earlier EPA
investigation in Polk County in central
Florida. There has been a moratorium
on residential building on mined-over
areas there since last October, when
EPA Administrator Russell E. Train
informed Florida Governor Reuben
Askew of EPA's findings.
cuyahoga pollution
Although dramatic reductions have
been made in some kinds of pollution in
the Cuyahoga River at Cleveland,
Ohio, many problems remain. A recent
study by Region V officials noted
reductions in floating oil, phenolic
compounds, ammonia, and cyanide.
Municipal and industrial wastewater
treatment programs are expected to
bring some improvement in dissolved
-------
oxygen conditions in the river.
However, the study pointed out, storm
water runoff and oxygen demand from
bottom-dwelling organisms will continue
to deplete the river's oxygen, especially
during summer low-flow periods.
impact statement
Region V officials will prepare an
environmental impact statement for the
sewage treatment plans of Columbus,
Ohio. Such statements are usually ruled
unnecessary by EPA in most
construction grant applications, but
when there are alternative facilities
being considered and local requests for
an environmental study, EPA makes it.
The plans for metropolitan Columbus
include many options: various methods
of sludge treatment and disposal; size
and location of interceptor sewer lines,
especially in sparsely settled areas;
degree of wastewater treatment needed
to protect the quality of the Scioto
River; ways of handling storm sewer
overflows; and similar questions.
ocean dumping
Region VI Administrator John C.
White has announced that EPA will
probably deny permission for Houston,
Texas, to dump sewage sludge into the
ocean.
"Based on the facts available to me,"
Mr. White said, "1 see alternatives,
such as land disposal," that the city can
use. The law and the regulations
require a pressing need for ocean
dumping before a permit can be
granted, he said. A public hearing may
be held before the final decision is
made.
engineers' agreement
EPA has signed an agreement with the
Army Corps of Engineers under which
the Southwestern Division of the Corps
will serve as engineering and technical
advisors in Region VI's Construction
Grants program. The Army engineers
will inspect wastewater treatment
projects at Step 3, the construction
stage, to augment EPA's inspection
staff.
hot line service
"My lagoon is turning septic; what do I
do?"
"The arms on my trickling filter won't
turn; how do 1 get them unstuck?"
Charles Bardonner, Coordinator of the
Wastewater Training Center at
Kirkwood Community College,
Kirkwood, Iowa, is ready for questions
like these. He and his staff man a new
toll-free telephone service for sewage
treatment plant operators throughout
the State.
Supported by an EPA grant, the hot
line service started in April. Kirkwood
College is a pioneer in wastewater
treatment instruction and is the only
center in the country that has its own
treatment facility for on-the-job training.
waste exchange
The first two industrial waste
exchanges in the United States were
established recently at St. Louis, Mo.,
and Ames, Iowa. The exchanges
publish and circulate lists of "wastes
wanted" and "wastes available" among
industries throughout their areas,
bringing disposer and user together for
mutual benefit.
The idea is based on the concept that
one man's waste is another man's
resource, and is'copied from several
waste "bourses" in Europe.
high altitude tests
Testing of 1977 cars for emission
control performance at high altitudes
has begun at Aurora, Colorado, near
Denver. EPA regulations require that
new cars meet emission standards when
they are driven at 4,000-foot altitude as
well as at their place of manufacture
(Detroit is about 600feet above sea level).
Air is less dense at higher altitude, so
an auto engine receives a richer fuel-air
mixture, combustion is less complete,
and emissions tend to be higher.
Regional Administrator John A. Green
said manufacturers may use design
features, tuning specifications, or
special devices to correct for high
altitude effects and attain improved
performance and mileage.
Under contract from EPA, Automotive
Testing Laboratories, Inc., is doing the
certification work, using about 100
prototype cars supplied by the
manufacturers. Colorado is the highest
State in the Union, with an average
altitude of 6,800 feet.
san diego violation
Region IX has issued a Notice of
Violation to the City of San Diego for
failure to establish and complete, a
compliance schedule under the
provisions of the wastewater discharge
permit program. A permit was issued
for San Diego's Point Loma
Wastewater Treatment Plant on Nov.
4, 1974, by the California Regional
Water Quality Board. The permit
contained provisions calling for a
conceptual plan, a final construction
plan, feasibility study, and a compliance
plan. No plans or reports have been
received, according to Richard
O'Connell, Regional Enforcemeent
Director. "The City of San Diego has
been cooperative on many issues," he
said,"but we couldn't let this drag on!"
spray plan criticized
EPA has criticized Forest Service plans
to spray insecticides on 300,000 acres of
forest in Washington and Oregon to
control the western spruce budworm.
The Agency said the chemicals
proposed might kill many organisms
that are natural enemies of the
budworm, thus diminishing the pest's
natural controls and requiring increased
chemical spraying in the future. EPA
made the comments on a draft
environmental impact statement
prepared by the Forest Service and
asked the Service to supply more
information in its final statement. D
PAGE 23
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APE r€U PARTICIPATING
IN THE 11< I S11 SSI VI
CBSEPWNCES THIS TEAP
Mary Sarno, Program Analyst, Plan-
ning and Management Division, Re-
gion III, Philadelphia, Pa.
"I am actively engaged, as a volun-
teer, in the Bicentennial Women's
Center here in Philadelphia. The Cen-
ter, in part funded by the State and
also with a $50,000 grant from the
Bicentennial Committee of Pennsylva-
nia, has a dual purpose. One is to
present, as dramatically as possible,
the role that women have played in
American history—a role sadly ne-
glected in conventional history books.
The other is to educate the public
about the current issues that confront
women."
"Except for its executive director,
Carol Tracy, and her staff of five, the
Center depends upon volunteer help
to keep going. My enthusiasm is
shared by some 20 other women from
EPA's Region III office, who will be
serving as information and reception
aides and doing whatever else is nec-
essary. "
"This Center has widespread support
from Philadelphians. There are over
50 women's organizations participating
and we are a mixed and diverse
group—whites and people of color,
housewives, blue and white collar
workers. We are located in the Penn-
walt Building, 3rd and Parkway, near
other Bicentennial buildings and about
ten minutes by public transportation
from Independence Square. I urge all
EPA staff who may be coming to
Philadelphia this year to visit us."
Charles Hajinian, Director of Manage-
ment, Region VII, Kansas City, Mo.
"My wife and I have been very
active in the Johnson County (Kansas)
Bicentennial Festival Committee. The
Committee staged a patriotic musical
revue, 'Long May It Wave' that was
professionally directed but locally
cast. It was a success—it ran for three
nights and made money."
"The Committee also published a
commemorative book that highlighted
the history of Johnson County through
paintings and photographs. It sold welf
all over the County; soft-covered cop-
ies sold for $1, hard-backed for $10,
and one copy, autographed by Presi-
dent Ford was sold at auction for
$180."
Vi Masco, Administrative Clerk, Sys-
tems Analysis Staff, Environmental
Monitoring and Support Laboratory,
Las Vegas, Nev.
"I am co-chairman of Lutheran Arts,
Etc., an organization that staged a
musical extravaganza, 'I Love Amer-
ica,' in celebration of the Bicentennial.
Basically, Arts, Etc. is six Lutheran
churches, but the group has broad-
ened out into being a truly interden-
omination activity. Whole families par-
ticipated—perhaps proving that there
isn't a generation gap after all.
" 'I Love America' played at the Las
Vegas Convention Center on April 20
and 21 and was a sell-out. It was
repeated May 1 for a National Con-
vention of Lutheran Women, and on
that occasion it was given an award
by the Las Vegas Bicentennial Com-
mittee. "
Robert Hagen, Chief, Energy Program
Branch, Region VIII, Denver, Colo.
"Early this spring, my family and I
toured some of the major historic
places being celebrated this Bicenten-
nial Year. We flew into the District of
Columbia, immediately rented a car,
and drove to Williamsburg, Va. After
viewing the colonial restorations there,
we leisurely visited Monticello, Mt.
Vernon, and Washington. Then it was
on to Gettysburg, Philadelphia, Plym-
outh, Mass., and Boston—where we
turned in the car and flew home.
"It was a good and worthwhile tour
and it exposed my young children to
the shape of American history."
Dr. David Otto, Research Psycholo-
gist, Clinical Studies Division, Health
Effects Research Laboratory, Re-
search Triangle Park, N.C.
"I am the chairman of the Orange
County Bicentennial Bikeway Task
Force which is set up under the
Horizons Committee of the Chapel
Hill Bicentennial Commission. We are
designing a bikeway system that will
connect the historic towns of Chapel
Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough,
once the colonial capital of North
Carolina."
"The Bikeway will serve a variety of
purposes. There will be commuter
routes for cyclists to schools, the
university, parks, shopping centers
and residential areas. Some routes will
be along existing roads, others will be
new greenway trails along the small
streams and creeks that literally lace
this part of the State."
Mary Sarno
PAGE 24
Charles Hajinian
Vi Masco
Robert Hagen
Dr. David Otto
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news "briefs
luuiiuiiiiumi
*
TIGHTER SAFEGUARDS URGED FOR OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING
Drilling for oil and gas on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
should be done much more carefully than in the Gulf of Mexico,
Associate Administrator Fitzhugh Green told an environmental
group at Newport, R. I., recently. Methods developed for
the Gulf 20 years ago are inadequate for the "environmentally
fragile" areas of the East Coast, Alaska, and southern
California, he said.
CANCER ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES
Interim cancer assessment procedures have been adopted by EPA
for guidance in researching regulatory decisions where cancer
risk is a key factor. The procedures implement a decision of
October 10, 1975, that rigorous assessments of health risk
and economic impact will be undertaken as part of the regulatory
process.
TRAIN ENDORSES NEW STRIP MINE REGULATIONS
The Interior Department's new regulations for coal leasing on
Federal lands have been endorsed by Administrator Russell
Train. The new rules, he said, "will require restoration of
strip-mined land to pre-mining conditions, or to conditions
suitable for improved uses." He said the performance standards
and the provisions for public participation throughout the
leasing process constitute "a significant environmental
achievement."
PUBLIC COMMENT SOUGHT ON ORGANIC CHEMICALS IN DRINKING WATER
The public will soon be asked for ideas and comments on ways
to deal with the problem caused by contamination of drinking
water supplies by organic chemicals. A document to be widely
distributed by EPA will describe the problem, present a series
of alternative regulatory approaches, and solicit additional
data and public comment.
PACK 2?
.
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EPA
OPENS
FLORIDA
EXHIBIT
This is an artist's concept of the Bicentennial Exposition of Science and Technology at
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where a major F,PA exhibit has just opened.
A $250,000 EPA exhibit on the role
of science and technology in achieving
a cleaner, more healthful environment
opened last month as part of the
Bicentennial Exposition on Science
and Technology at the Kennedy
Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The EPA display is housed in one of
15 geodesic domes erected at the
center near one of the world's largest
structures, the Vehicle Assembly
Building, where the Saturn rockets
were prepared to send men to the
moon.
The other domes contain exhibits
sponsored by Federal agencies and
private industry. An estimated two
million people are expected to attend
the exposition which will remain open
through Labor Day.
Speaking of the purpose of the expo-
sition. President Ford said, "We will
show America what we've done and
what we are going to do with our
funds, the ingenuity of our scientists.
and the drive and foresight of our
private sector."
The introductory area of the EPA
pavilion emphasizes the Nation's rich
legacy of natural resources and tech-
nological accomplishment. It also rec-
ognizes that careless use of technology
and wasteful use of resources have
contributed to the deterioration of
those elements most basic to our
existence—the air, land, and water.
The second exhibit area deals with
the capabilities of science and technol-
ogy to identify environmental prob-
lems. Included in this portion of the
pavilion are a demonstration of some
of the newest techniques for measur-
ing air pollution and its effects on
human health, research techniques
used in identifying toxic and cancer-
causing chemicals in the environment.
and a report on EPA's National Eu-
trophication Survey, a study of the
effect of pollutants on the Nation's
fresh-water lakes.
The third section of the exhibit ex-
amines the degree to which science
and technology may contribute to the
solution of various environmental
problems. Several displays illustrate
resource recovery.
The summary area of the pavilion
will contain a slide show which em-
phasizes the need for continued public
concern for maintaining environmental
quality to assure that the science and
technology of the next 100 years will
contribute to a cleaner, more healthful
environment.
All of the exhibits will be relocated
later at various EPA facilities.
Visitors wilt also be able to tour the
space center as part of their visit.
Huge rockets will be on display in the
Vehicle Assembly Building. Visitors
will also be able to visit the firing
rooms where the countdowns for
rockets being sent into space will be
reenacted. D
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